WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TO HOST ADELPHI IN ECC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Mar. 2, 2009) – The Molloy College women’s basketball team, which ended the regular season with an overall record of 20-6 and an East Coast Conference ledger of 14-4, earned the third seed in the upcoming ECC Tournament. The Lions will face the sixth-seeded Panthers of Adelphi University in the quarterfinal round at Quealy Gymnasium in Rockville Centre, N.Y. During the year, Molloy downed Adelphi in both of its contests, 50-41, on January 14, and 74-65 on February 14.

No. 2 seed Dowling College will square off with seventh-seeded Mercy College in Oakdale, N.Y. The Golden Lions won both match-ups against the Mavericks in decisive fashion. On December 6, Dowling rolled past Mercy by a count of 91-63 on the home front. Then, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., The Golden Lions earned an 86-76 win over the Mavericks. In 2008-09, Dowling notched an overall record of 20-7 and an East Coast Conference ledger of 14-4. As for Mercy, it was 10-17 and 7-11 against league opposition.

The 4/5 contest features the University of Bridgeport taking on C.W. Post in their respective seedings. The Purple Knights finished out the regular season with a three-game winning stretch en route to a 12-15 mark and an ECC record of 11-7. As for the Pioneers, they ended up one game below .500 at 12-13 overall in addition to a 10-8 league standing. The season series featured a Purple Knights sweep. They defeated C.W. Post at home on January 14 by an 80-56 score and then on the road, 64-49 (Feb. 14).

After finishing out the year by winning eight of nine and 20 of 22, Queens College secured the top seed in the tournament after posting a 15-3 ledger in East Coast Conference play. The Knights also notched an overall record of 21-6. Furthermore, they took both contests from their opponent, the eighth-seeded Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College (7-20, 4-14 ECC). On January 3, QC defeated STAC, 70-44, in Flushing, N.Y. Then, on February 7, the Knights beat the Spartans by a 72-42 final in Sparkill, N.Y.

The winners of their quarterfinal contests will move onto the semifinal round, which is slated to begin on Saturday, March 7, on the Adelphi campus in Garden City, N.Y. Tip-off times are scheduled for 12 noon and 2:30 p.m. The two finalists will then meet up on Sunday at noon for a chance to win the ECC crown and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.